Thursday Stories: Madoff; Palmetto State Rejection; Local Newspaper Pain; Happy Utah

I saw a good post on MarketWatch on comments on Madoff few weeks ago. Was... US Treasury is biggest Ponzi scheme. I was looking into calendars years back ( maybe a temporal reference isn't appropriate there ) - but some cultures ? China ? Mayans ? have cyclical calendars - at the year level In the west ? I observe the Gregorian calendar just counts and counts and well ? there really IS no limit, all you REALLY celebrate is base ten numeration place value when the zero's move over - take year 2000, ONLY in base ten is that aggregate count of revolutions around the sun in any way meaningful. Madoff ? Seems to have a similar thinking system as this Gregorian calendar. It may BE that the calendar instills IN us - this sense of - hopeless living, just on and on and on - with one big firecracker at the end to say - Cycle is over. I think this weighs on western cultures... this sense that there IS no goal. When it's cyclic ? we know it's coming around again... The Romans had a REASON for the cyclicity of all temporal measurements, the recurring 7 day week - the months - seems in the West it's cyclical ALL the way UP to the year - and then ? it's all one big Ponzi run on gullability of peoples ideological aspirations until Jesus shows up and goes shock and awe on all the non believers ? I feel for those that actually WELCOME some envisioned 'end times' model. Someone like MAdoff ? Heck, he probably just read the bible and figured, hey, might as well- Jesus will save m

I wonder if Madoff named any politicians - or prior politicians. It does have a feel of Enron to it. Madoff, having headed up NASDAQ - it leaves on jaw dropped on the POTENTIAL span of his 'doings'. I wonder if he made a plea that said "Look, I WON'T tell how badly the entire system is infected, and you leave give my family immunity." In other words, maybe Madoff made a plea - NOT to SPILL the beans ? but to keep quiet ! :) He's only got a few years left, so, any prison term is a death sentence, just trying to imagine what he may have done as to a plea bargain. Bargain might be the wrong word ? eh ? He certainly can take others down though - that's the question to me. Kind of like - AIG and systemic risk - if Madoff WERE to name all names ? and those get to the press ? Just imagine the outcome. Who knows, maybe Madoff was being investigated back when that plane took out building 7- the SEC/CIA building. ODD those two share, well, shared, we'll never know what was lost - will we ? (and what would SOME PEOPLE DO for 50 billion eh ? ) a building, more than odd.

Don't worry the local newspaper,the Vicksburg Post,a family owned paper,has been feeling the recession too. So far no job layoffs but at the beginning of the year the paper has improved its online website but the paper edition has dropped a lot of it traditional advertizing. But still it has to compete with the USA TODAY and the Jackson Clarion Ledger for readers.

The Journalism School of the University of Texas is run by self-avowed Marxists. So guess how their students turn out and guess where they go to work? At least here in Texas lots of us have canceled our newspaper subscriptions in the last five years so that we slow the funding of those who turn their media into propaganda sheets for the Democrat Party. I'm glad it's working else where too.

I say Madoff's wife needs to have the money she has taken & she needs to go to jail too. She knew about what her HUSBAND was doing & Lived the high life from it. Why should he be living where he is while the people he ripped off have nothing & can't pay their bills much less eat. With everything else thats going on Everyone is a victim. The president needs to come up with the money to help the people that lost everything they have and us people that are loseing everything we have in our 401 K. Ours went from $50,000.00. To $25,000.00. Thats not enough to pay off our house, much less retire. We have worked all our life for the money we have and now it's half gone. And we have to help pay back money that the President is handing out like it's candy. That is not right, we pay our bills & Owe nothing to anyone. I don't know why the President didn't just give the money to us the people that are suffering because of all this so we can spend it, No noone can spend anything now because we don't have money to spend. I need to see a Dr. but can't, I have no insurance & can't get Medicade in my state, what do I do just sit back & Die? I Guess so, Does Madoff's care? Does anyone care? Well I do & so does my 4 sons & my 12 yr old daughter & the wonderful man I am with now that has lost half his 401 K because of all this crap. Things are not good & will not get any better any time soon as long as The President keeps bailing out everyone. People are getting real mad over all this.

I've been following the Madoff storie with interest. In fact I watch CNBC,Bloomberg this morning to see how the news coverage varied. Last night on Happy Hour a possiple lead has emrege to see if Madoff and Sir Allen Stamford may be involved in this Ponzi scheme together. But I believe now it's time to get see the Allen's victims out there. On Money for Breakfast I didn't appreciate what Chris Cotter said about the Madoff's victims. I watch David Ansman's special last night and thier stories and others should be told.

Concerning Jim Calhoun's salary, $1.6 million for a top tier coach is not awful. Let's talk $100 million dollar contracts for absurdity in sports. Also, he is successful while the wall street execs are walking away from bankrupt companies with millions while the company stockholders lose most of their investment if not all of it. Not a similar situation in my opinion. Wait 3 years and see what happens with athlete and coach salaries as well. Hey, at least the (honest) college athletes will keep their full salaries! :)